Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Transparency in journalism

From Jonathan Tobin in Commentary:

There was a time not so very long ago when blogging and journalism were two completely different things. Many, if not most bloggers did not publish under their own names and mainstream journalists sniffed their disapproval. But as most journalists now write as much if not far more for the Internet than print, the idea that blogging is somehow antithetical to journalism is a distinctly antique notion.

It is in this context of a journalistic world in which constant online news updates and accompanying commentary is a given that we must view the revelation this weekend that a popular Middle East blog was a hoax. The blog, which went under the name “Gay Girl in Damascus,” purported to be the musings of a Syrian-American lesbian who was a critic of the Assad regime. Interest in the blog went up in recent months as unrest in Syria made the commentary from this seemingly fearless writer all the more fascinating.

But, as we learned this weekend, it was all a hoax. The “gay girl” turned out to be one Tom MacMaster, a 40-year-old American graduate student living in Scotland who was known in Palestinian and anti-Israel activist circles. ....

This incident makes it all the more important for consumers of news and opinion on the web to know more about the sites they are reading. In the end, there is no substitute for transparency. Blogs and websites that operate without it are a standing invitation to fraud of one sort or another.

While this is true, Tobin is implying that somehow news sites are more transparent, and therefore more reliable, in their reporting than blogs are. While there are some checks and balances in the news media that do not exist in cyberspace, this is not the same thing as transparency.

One only has to go back a month to see The New York Times state confidently that Khaled Meshal of Hamas accepts a two state solution. And he said no such thing.

This was indeed a failing of the New York Times' fact checking, but it was also one out of thousands of examples of a lack of journalistic transparency. In fact, most newspapers online do not contain links to external sources in their stories where an interested reader can check out information first hand.

This topic strikes close to home for me. My blog is anonymous. Not only that, but my blog is biased. I am a Zionist and I am not going to pretend otherwise. So how can I convince anyone to listen to me?

The answer is transparency. I try to make sure that when I write something I will link back to the original source, when possible. I encourage and expect my readers to check my sources and call me on it if I am wrong.

This applies to polls, government reports, transcripts of important speeches, Arabic newspapers, historical documents, even public domain books. If I can find an original source, I will link back.

When my team and I went painstakingly through Arabic media to determine which "civilians" in Gaza were in fact terrorists, I made sure that every discussion on the topic was in the comments system so that anyone could double-check our work. (Unfortunately, the old comment system is no longer here.)

Newspaper websites usually do not do this. If they quote a poll or a report or a speech, they will not link back to the source unless it is on their own site.

Since newspapers occasionally interview people, to my mind their responsibility is to make the entire raw interview available online so readers can make up their own minds as to the context of the statements that the news media choose to highlight. What exactly did Meshal say to Bronner? Exactly at what point did he depart from Meshal's words and into his own interpretation of what he said? Was there a mistranslation or just sloppy reporting? Did Bronner ask leading questions to get the answers he wanted? All of this is important information.

Transparency would allow good reporters - and bloggers - to be valued, and sloppy ones to be exposed.

So this is not a blog vs. newspaper issue. It is simply an issue of how transparent the news media is in reporting its stories. It is making clear to the world what the raw facts are and what the interpretations and assumptions behind them are. It would expose the memes that lazy journalists use (hawkish Likud, moderate Abbas.)

And it is not likely that we will see the news media become truly transparent any time soon. They consciously nurture the myth that they are somehow special, that their opinions are more informed than those of non-journalists, that they do not suffer from bias. Opening up their methodology is something that many reporters will fight hard against, because deep down they know when they take shortcuts and make assumptions in their stories.

But transparency is the only way to know that what you are reading is the truth.

(By the way, it wouldn't be such a bad idea if professional journalists admitted where they found their stories to begin with. Youknow, hat tips. It would be nice to see how much of their work is being done by us bloggers.)

Further illustrations of what flotilla humanitarians look like

People might be confused when they hear the words "peace activists" or "humanitarian workers" when referring to those who choose to sail to Gaza in flotillas. So, in a continuation of this morning's post on the topic, I can illustrate exactly what they mean when they use those magic words.

Handcuffed, blindfolded protesters beaten by Syrian soldiers (video)

This was said to have been taken in Daraa on June 9:

(h/t IsraelMuse via email)

Study: Correlation between Shari'a and violent materials in US mosques

Middle East Quarterly has a fascinating, and seemingly scientifically sound, study by Mordechai Kedar and David Yerushalmi that finds a correlation between violent extremism in literature found in mosques with the level of adherence to Shari'a law in the same mosques in the US.

Abstract:

A random survey of 100 representative mosques in the U.S. was conducted to measure the correlation between Sharia adherence and dogma calling for violence against non-believers. Of the 100 mosques surveyed, 51% had texts on site rated as severely advocating violence; 30% had texts rated as moderately advocating violence; and 19% had no violent texts at all. Mosques that presented as Sharia adherent were more likely to feature violence-positive texts on site than were their non-Sharia-adherent counterparts. In 84.5% of the mosques, the imam recommended studying violence-positive texts. The leadership at Sharia-adherent mosques was more likely to recommend that a worshipper study violence-positive texts than leadership at non-Sharia-adherent mosques. Fifty-eight percent of the mosques invited guest imams known to promote violent jihad. The leadership of mosques that featured violence-positive literature was more likely to invite guest imams who were known to promote violent jihad than was the leadership of mosques that did not feature violence-positive literature on mosque premises.

PREFACE
The debate over the connection between Islam and its legal doctrine and system known as Sharia on the one hand and terrorism committed in the name of Islam on the other rages on among counter terrorism professionals, academics, policy experts, theologians, and politicians. Much of this debate centers on the evidence that the perpetrators of violence in the name of Islam source the moral, theological, and legal motivations and justifications for their actions in Sharia. Much of the opposition to this focus on Sharia centers on the argument that Sharia is and has been historically malleable and exploited for good and bad causes.

This study seeks to enter this fray but at a more empirical level. Since we know that mosques are in fact a situs of recruitment and “radicalization” for terrorism committed in the name of Islam, this study seeks to enter into that domain to determine if there is an empirical correlation between actual, manifest Sharia-related behaviors and the presence of violent and jihad-based literature, and further, the promotion of that literature. While the presence of violent and jihad-based literature alone does not necessarily suggest the worshippers at such a mosque adopt the violent literature’s approach to the use of violence, if the imams at such mosques also promote the literature, and if those mosques are more likely to invite guest imams and speakers who are known to promote violent jihad, the presence of these factors together would be strongly suggestive of an environment prone to jihad recruitment. Thus, this study also seeks to determine if the spiritual leadership in these mosques is supportive of this genre of literature.

The study website, Mapping Sharia, gives more details, such as the types of incitement to violence in the texts in these mosques. For example:

al-Misri: Umdat al-Salik (Reliance of the Traveller)
"If someone does this [prevents others from accepting Islam], then it is the duty of Islam to fight him until either he is killed or until he declares his submission."

Saabiq: Fiqh-us-Sunnah (The Book on Acts of Worship)
“The truth of the matter is that he [who] becomes an unbeliever... is to be killed for his unbelief."

Qutb: Ma’alim fi-l-Tariq (Milestones)
"If someone [prevents others from accepting Islam], then it is the duty of Islam to fight him until either he is killed or until he declares his submission."

This is an important study and needs to be widely publicized.

Gazans "treated like animals" at Egyptian border

Writer and editor Ramzy Baroud is hardly reliable, but this article in his Palestine Chronicle is interesting:

Governed by political and cultural sensitivities, most Palestinian officials and public figures refrain from criticising the way Palestinians are treated at the Rafah border.

However there is really no diplomatic language to describe the relationship between desperate Palestinians - some literally fighting for their lives - and Egyptian officials at the crossing which separates Gaza from Egypt.

"Gazans are treated like animals at the border," a friend of mine told me.

Having crossed the border myself just a few days ago, I could not disagree with her statement.

The latest "permanent" reopening has come with its own conditions and limitations, involving such factors as gender, age, purpose of visit and so on.

I was one of the very first Palestinians who stood at Rafah following the announcement of a "permanent" opening.

Our bus waited at the gate for a long time.

I watched a father repeatedly try to reassure his crying six-year-old child, who displayed obvious signs of a terrible bone disease.

I'm not sure how obvious a bone disease can be from the outside, but anyway....

"Get the children out or they will die," shouted an older passenger as he gasped for air.

The heat in the bus, combined with the smell of trapped sweat was unbearable.

Passengers took it upon themselves to leave the bus and stand outside, enduring disapproving looks from the Egyptian officials.

Disapproving looks. This is terrible!

Our next task was finding clean water and a shady spot in the arid zone separating the Egypt and Palestinian sides.

There were no toilets.

A tangible feeling of despair and humiliation could be read on the faces of the Gaza passengers.

So far this sounds just like passengers around the world on airplanes that are delayed on the tarmac.

No-one seemed to be in the mood to speak of the Egyptian revolution, a favourite topic of conversation among most Palestinians.

All Palestinians are treated very poorly at the Rafah crossing and they continue to suffer even after the toppling of Mubarak, his family and the dismissal of the corrupt security apparatus.

The Egyptian revolution has yet to reach Gaza.

When the bus was finally allowed to enter about five hours later, Palestinians dashed into the gate, desperately hoping to be among the lucky ones allowed to go in.

The anxiety of the travellers usually makes them vulnerable to workers at the border who promise them help in exchange for negotiated amounts of money.

Notice what he doesn't say - whether these workers are Egyptian or Palestinian. Since he hasn't yet crossed the border, it sounds like the latter.

All of this is actually a con, as the decision is made by a single man, referred to as al-Mukhabarat, the "intelligence."

Some are sent back while others are allowed entry.

Everyone is forced to wait for many hours - sometimes even days - with no clear explanation as to what they are waiting for or why they are being sent back.

The very ill six-year-old held onto his dad's jacket as they walked about, frantically trying to fulfil all the requirements.

Both seemed like they were about to collapse.

The Mukhabarat determined that three Gaza students on their way to their universities in Russia were to be sent back.

They had jumped through many hoops already to make it so far.

Their hearts sank when they heard the verdict.

I protested on their behalf and the decision was as arbitrarily reversed as it was originally made.

Our hero!

Those who are sent back to Gaza are escorted by unsympathetic officers to the same open spot to wait for the same decrepit bus.

Some of those who are allowed entry are escorted by security personnel across the Sinai desert, all the way to Cairo International Airport to be "deported" to their final destinations. They are all treated like common criminals.

The Israeli siege has choked Gaza to the point of near complete strangulation. Egypt is Gaza's only hope.

"I beg you to open the crossing... You brothers of Egypt have humiliated us for so long. Isn't it time we had our dignity back?" said Naziha al-Sebakhi, 63, one of the many distressed faces at the Rafah border.

As they crossed into Egypt, some of the passengers seemed euphoric.

The three Russian students and I shared a taxi to Cairo.

Despite everything, the young men seemed to hold no resentment towards Egypt.

"I just love Egypt. I don't know why," said Majid pensively, before falling asleep from sheer exhaustion.

People having to wait at an international crossing and being subjected to the laws and procedures of the land as to whether they can enter another country. Awful!

(h/t Israel Muse)

"Unity": Hamas turns up the rhetoric against Fatah and the PA

Hamas media and politicians have been fairly low key about criticizing the PA since the "unity" agreement was struck, but that has been changing lately.

Besides the public spats over who is going to be the "unity" prime minister, we are seeing:

The Hamas MP, Mona Mansour, who was engaged in a protest in Nablus yesterday is now accusing PA police of stripping her and her daughter of their hijabs while they were being arrested. She also says that journalists were attacked.

Hamas is saying that the latest visit by Jews to the Tomb of Joseph is being "protected by Fatah security" who is keeping people away.

A deputy to the president of Hamas' legislative council now says that there can be no reconciliation as long as Fatah continues to arrest Hamas members in the West Bank.

Sounds like "unity" is fraying badly, but they will try their hardest to ensure that this does not escape into the English-language media before....September. Then all hell will break loose.

Handy-dandy guide to flotilla human rights terminology (poster)

In the coming weeks we will be seeing more and more "humanitarian activists" saying that Israeli soldiers attacked peaceful aid workers a year ago.

Here is a helpful glossary to understand the terminology that they will be using, so you can better understand the language of "Flotilla-ese." (Click to enlarge.)

Egyptian newspaper covers "spy" story differently in Arabic and English

From Al Masry al Youm, English:

The announcement of the arrest of an Israeli man, Ilan Grapel, on charges of spying in Egypt has been met with skepticism in some quarters, especially as accounts emerge of a man who, if he were a spy, could only be described as "bumbling".

According to a Reuters report, Grapel was posting openly on his Facebook page about his presence and activities in Egypt – hardly the remit of a super spy.

Meanwhile, the evidence presented by Egypt's own spooks seems less than convincing. Again according to Reuters, photographs of Gapel offered by the prosecution as incriminating evidence were in fact taken from the Facebook page of a pro-Israeli group.

And for some analysts, the notion of sending such a spy – bumbling or otherwise – to Egypt right now makes no sense anyway.

Mohamed al-Gawady, a historian from the Arab Social Science Council, said that there seemed to be no tangible benefit to Israel from Grapel’s presence in Egypt, especially in the post-uprising era, when an exposé like this could severely harm the relationship between the two countries.

Activist and blogger Hossam al-Hamalawy also cast doubt on the story, writing on his blog that protesters in Egypt have been accused of being directed by Israel since the student riots of 1968.

“Seriously, what a soap opera,” he wrote.

However, in Arabic, the same newspaper is pushing the ridiculous spy narrative for all it is worth. In a long article it claims:

* Grapel entered Egypt on January 28, the "Day of Anger"
* The Mossad asked him to investigate the Muslim Brotherhood, Coptic Christians, the army and the protesters
* He held Egyptian flags during protests to gain the confidence of the Egyptians
* He pretended to be a freelance journalist, or a freelance photographer, or a reporter for a wire service.
* He asked questions about the presidential candidates.
* He spoke with journalists and intellectuals in cafes.
* He visited mosques and churches.
* He met with Salafis the day before the slaughter at a Coptic church and they told him that what they planned to do. So he came back the next day to video the riot.
* He tried to drive a wedge between the youth and the army.
* He had emails on his laptop to the Mossad.

Most of these are absurd - or normal. Why wouldn't a visiting aspiring Arabist meet with intellectuals in Cairo cafes, or visit mosques, or speak to Copts and Salafis?

Anyway, it is instructive that the English edition of Al Masry al Youm pretends to be sophisticated and skeptical while the Arabic edition is conspiracy-minded and accusatory.

Just a little old fashioned Jew-hatred from Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood

From The Investigative Project on Terrorism:

Anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism go hand-in-hand in the Muslim Brotherhood's ideology, as demonstrated in a recent speech by the group's leader Mohamed Badie. To Badie, the current problems in the Middle East have historical roots in a Jewish conspiracy, coupled with Masonic and American/Western elements.
"Allah has warned us the tricks of the Jews, and their role in igniting the fire of wars," Badie said in a speech posted to the Brotherhood's Arabic-language website on June 2 and translated by the Investigative Project on Terrorism. "The Almighty said: 'Every time they light the fires of war, Allah extinguishes them; and they labor hard to spread corruption on earth: and Allah does not love the spreaders of corruption."
According to Badie, "such was their [the Jewish] plot by night and by day to divide the Muslims, old and new." Their intentions could be traced from Napoleon to the founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, and on to the strife in Arab nations like Sudan. "We will only gain their land by feeding the fire of animosity between them, to facilitate their destruction by our hands," Badie claimed that Herzl said at a 1903 Masonic Conference.
As a part of this conspiracy, Badie argues that the West is in collaboration with the Jews. "O Muslims: I do not think that the West wants well for Muslims good," Badie said. "I do not imagine the Americo-Zionist alliance wants our blessed revolution to reach its objectives, in the forefront of which are: that we enjoy freedom in our land, that we be independent in our decision and that we have sovereignty over our homelands."
The speech underlines assertions that the Brotherhood has not reformed its ideology, despite public pronouncements on their website and in English-language comments to the media. The organization recently generated controversy by condemning the killing of Osama bin Laden, and for its support for terrorism and a shaky commitment to democratic principles.
d-to

And it is all there on the Muslim Brotherhood website.

Proof that Syria staged "Nakba Day" protests

Nice reporting from The Telegraph's Michael Weiss:

I have just been forward what appear to be Syrian state documents leaked by the governor of al-Qunaitera, in south-west Syria, which suggest that the regime fully orchestrated the “Nakba Day” raids of Palestinian refugees into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on May 15.

The document (below) which bears the Syrian Republic emblem, is dated May 14, 2011 and describes an “urgent meeting” of Major General Asef Shawkat, the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces, and the chiefs of security and military intelligence branches in the province in Al-Qunaitera, which is located at the Syrian-Israeli border. The memorandum outlines how the regime ordered the dispatching of 20 buses, each one with a passenger capacity of 47, to cross the border into Majdal-Shamms in the Golan Heights in order to precipitate a confrontation between Palestinian refugees and Israeli soldiers and UN peacekeeping forces, thereby distracting international attention from the Syrian revolution.

I quote the entire document, attributed to the “Office of the Mayor” in Al-Qunaitera province:

After an urgent meeting convened by the security committee on Saturday in the presence of the Mayor of al-Qunaitera, Major General Asef Shawkat -Deputy Chief of Staff for the Armed Forces-, and chiefs of security and military (intelligence) branches in the province, the following was decided:

All security, military, and contingent units in the province, Ain-el-Tina and the old al-Qunaitera are hereby ordered to grant permission of passage to all twenty vehicles (47 passenger capacity) with the attached plate numbers that are scheduled to arrive at ten in the morning on Sunday May 15, 2011 without being questioned or stopped until it reaches or frontier defense locations.

Permission is hereby granted allowing approaching crowds to cross the cease fire line (with Israel) towards the occupied Majdal-Shamms, and to further allow them to engage physically with each other in front of United Nations agents and offices. Furthermore, there is no objection if a few shots are fired in the air.

Captain Samer Shahin from the military intelligence division is hereby appointed to the leadership of the group assigned to break-in and infiltrate deep into the occupied Syrian Golan Heights with a specified pathway to avoid land mines.

It is essential to ensure that no one carries military identification or a weapon as they enter with a strict emphasis on the peaceful and spontaneous nature of the protest.

The provincial security committee meeting is considered in constant deliberation in coordination with the Center.

May you be the source of prosperity for the nation and the party

(signature)
Dr. Khalil Mash-hadiya
Mayor of Al-Qunaitera

...This document – which I have good reason to believe is absolutely genuine – appears to represent the first piece of regime-created evidence that Assad has cynically tried to manipulate Western and Arabic media during three-month Syrian uprising.

Cynical, indeed.

Yet how many Western media outlets uncritically referred to all the rioters as "Palestinian refugees"?

(h/t Folderol)

Arab countries haven't paid the PA a dime this year

From MEMRI:

Palestinian Authority Accountant General Yousef Al-Zumor said that the PA is having difficulties paying its employees because Arab countries are not transferring the financial aid they promised.

He claimed that in 2011, no aid had been received, and in 2010, the PA had received $280 million out of the promised $960 million that had been promised.

In 2010, he said, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar all transferred much smaller sums than they had in previous years, and added that Qatar had transferred no aid at all in 2008-2009.

Source: Wafa (Palestinian Authority), June 12, 2011

I don't know how to jive this with Fayyad's recent statement that the PA was receivingsome $52 million a month from Arab countries. At the time, I thought it might have been a mistranslation - and this article seems to bear that out.

So when the Arabs don't come through for their Palestinian brethren, who is left holding the bag? The West always pays up whenever these "emergencies" come up!

Good news: Israel exhibit starts today in Milan despite threats

Last week I posted a YNet article:

Italian police have refused to handle security for an Israeli exhibit at a central Milan square next week due to threats of violence by Palestinian activists, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.

The exhibit, set to take place at Piazza Duomo, has been planned in honor of 'Israel Week' in the city. It includes 15 towers showcasing Israeli culture, technology, agriculture, economics, and art "to present the unfamiliar Israel".

But pro-Palestinian organizations are threatening to target the exhibit. Over the past few days the groups have been urging internet users to sign a petition to cancel the exhibit.

Web posters issued by the groups threaten to "ignite the city" and say, "No to Israeli occupation of Milano".

It seems that the problems have been solved, and the ten day festival is staring today. From Time, translating an article at La Stampa:

"Unexpected Israel," an exhibition celebrating Israel, will go ahead as planned in Milan's central Duomo piazza, despite protests from pro-Palestinian activists. Milan authorities have confirmed the location of the biggest Israeli cultural event ever organized abroad, set to take place June 13-23.

Pro-Palestinian activists have posted an online plea against the event, and have threatened to organize a rally against it on June 18. "We do not want Milan to become the stage for Zionist imperialism's propaganda," they wrote.

Renzo Gattegna, president of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, and Roberto Jarach, president of the Milan Jewish community, responded in a joint statement: "Giving up under threat would be a political victory for those who bring prejudice and hate."

After meeting a representative of the mayor, the pro-Palestinian activists said in a statement that they claim their right "to peacefully question and expose this whitewashing operation of Israeli politics."  Opening next Monday, Unexpected Israel will exhibit an installation consisting of 15 columns and 15 monitors, which will be placed in Duomo's vast square to illustrate Israel's diverse realities. On June 14, there will be an Italo-Israeli business-forum. On June 15, writer Davis Grossman will talk in the Teatro Nuovo, while the singer Noa will perform in concert. The main exhibitions will be hosted in a 900-square-meter pavilion.

[Mayor] Pisapia, who just came into office as the city's first center-left mayor in 20 years, had the last word. "Milan is an open and hospital city for everyone. It cannot be the place to reproduce a fight that for too long has not been solved peacefully," he said. "Milan is a sister city of Tel Aviv and Bethlehem, and it must continue being a meeting point for cultures and peoples."

Israel's story in maps

I just got this link and decided to put it up on Scribd.

Israel's Story in Maps

It is also available in Hebrew.

(h/t Akiva)

Video of Iranians caught fighting against Syrian opposition

Al Arabiya reports that two men from Iran, who speak Arabic, were caught in the Syrian city of Hama by the Syrian opposition. They seem to have admitted working for the Syrian dictatorship..

There have been a number of reports of both Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria acting on behalf of the Assad regime, but this seems to be the first confirmation.

Here is a video of the two:

Galloway finally says it explicitly: He wants Israel to be destroyed

As far as I can tell, up until now, George Galloway has, to Western audiences, made a pretense of saying he supports peace between Arabs and Israel - as long as there is a "right to return." Listen, for example, to his radio show aired in late 2008 where he disingenuously claims that Hamas supports the Arab peace plan.

Now, he is explicit that his idea of "peace" means that Israel no longer exists and that "Palestine" takes over all the land from the Mediterranean to the Jordan:

Transcript from MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from an interview with former British MP George Galloway, which aired on Palestine Today TV on May 24, 2011:

George Galloway: When President Obama is talking about a smaller and smaller Palestine, we have to insist that Palestine is one, from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea.

[…]

Our next land convoy, which will arrive, God willing, in Gaza on the 27th of December this year, will be called "The Return Convoy," because we insist that Palestine is not only Gaza, the West Bank, and what they call "East Jerusalem." Palestine is the whole country and the whole people.

[…]

Interviewer: The largest insurance company in the world, Lloyd's, refused to insure the ships of the second Freedom Flotilla. How will you deal with this matter, which may hinder your progress?

George Galloway: Well, we will have no insurance, but God is great and we are doing God's work. We are not afraid of Israel. We are afraid only of God.